Recognizing the logistical and technical challenges of bloated equipment management and a limited, crowded RF spectrum, Sennheiser has introduced a new path forward for large-scale wireless solutions: Spectera, the world’s first wideband, bidirectional digital wireless ecosystem.
Spectera offers professionals a compact and versatile ecosystem that can deliver incredibly high channel counts (up to 64) with a single 1 RU base station transceiver at its core. With fully bidirectional communication between base station and hybrid mic/line transmitter/IEM receiver SEK bodypacks, you can set up a wireless mic system, a wireless IEM system, or both, all managed through one rack-mounted device and the LinkDesk desktop software for Mac and Windows. This relieves technicians from managing huge racks of transmitters and receivers, piles of bodypacks, endless cabling, and painstaking load ins and load outs.
Pro wireless technicians will also appreciate the extensive redundancy built into the Spectera Base Station. This single rack unit device sports redundant AC power input, redundant Dante connectivity, and options for up to four antennas, which beyond redundancy, also allows for extended zone coverage and additional spectrum capacity. Each base station can also support optional redundant MADI output modules (up to 2) with coaxial BNC and optical options available. This makes Spectera ideal for mission-critical applications with zero tolerance for failure.
Spectera’s bidirectional magic is all possible thanks to Sennheiser’s implementation of WMAS, a new wireless technology that can accommodate entire productions on a single wideband RF carrier. WMAS is vastly more resistant to dropouts from RF fading than traditional narrowband systems. The system can occupy a 6 or 8 MHz wideband carrier. Spectera features support for wideband operation in the UHF (470 to 663 MHz) and largely unoccupied 1G4 (1.435 to 1.525 GHz) ranges, allowing you to configure your system for your needs.
Audio specs for Spectera are impressive. The system supports up to 24-bit / 96 kHz full uncompressed audio for utterly pristine quality. The base station features individual sample rate converters for all audio interfaces as well as BNC wordclock I/O. With latency down to 0.7 ms for IEMs/IFBs (1 ms for mic/line signals), you get smooth, signature Sennheiser audio quality across the entire system. Both control and audio signals are encrypted via AES 256 encryption.
11 Audio Link modes are available for selectable control of audio quality, latency, channel count, and operating range. This means that with 64 channels to work with (32 in, 32 out), you can configure Spectera for multiple scenarios, including hybrid IEM and wireless mic/line transmission setups. This level of control drives home the inherent flexibility of the Spectera system, making it particularly ideal for large events, high-end productions, rental houses, large-scale installs, and touring bands.
The base station supports Sennheiser’s new DAD transceiver antennas, which come in UHF and 1G4 variants (the base station supports both RF ranges natively). The integrated RF components in the DAD antennas manage IEM signals, mic/line signals, and control data simultaneously, eliminating the need for additional dedicated RF gear such as combiners, splitters, or boosters, and further reducing the requisite gear for your rigs. They are also equipped with rugged RJ45 connectors, IP54 protection, and PoE.
The SEK bodypack transceivers feature crystal-clear, low-power E-ink displays and come in UHF and 1G4 versions. IEM/IFB reception and mic/line transmission are supported simultaneously. Spectera SEK bodypacks feature an impedance matching high-power headphone amplifier and offer up to seven hours of operating time depending on the Audio Link mode selected. They feature rechargeable BA-70 lithium-ion batteries.
Although Spectera is launching with support for the SEK bodypack transceivers only, Sennheiser plans to release handheld transmitter options down the line, with support for most of their existing handheld dynamic and condenser mic capsules.
For more information about the new Spectera bidirectional wireless ecosystem, including additional features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out the detailed product pages. Or drop us a line below, and we’ll do our best to answer all your comments and questions.
